Costpoint Analytics loads budget data from Microsoft Excel files. Those files must have the correct names and location, and the data in the files must be formatted correctly.
The Costpoint Analytics installation copies the following sample budget data files to the <installation location>\Analytics\Budget folder:
RevenueBudget.xlsx
BacklogBudget.xlsx
LaborUtilizationBudget.xlsx
These files have the required names and contain sample data in the correct format.
Before you create the initial budget data files, do the following:
Review the budget data descriptions provided later in this document, and open and review the sample budget data files provided with Costpoint Analytics in the <installation location>\Analytics\Budget folder.
Review the Budget Data Validation table. Use the following link to open and download that document from the Deltek Customer Care Connect site: https://deltek.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/61242.
Determine the historical periods and future periods for which you will provide budget data.
For example, if you plan to load 24 periods of actual performance data and want to match historical budgets with those actuals, include those 24 historical period budgets in the budget files, along with any current and future period budgets.
Identify the sources in your firm for the required budget data, and make sure you have access to that data.
Determine how you will extract the budget data from those sources, format it, and load it into Microsoft Excel.
To create your budget data files, complete the following steps:
Extract the data from your budgeting spreadsheets or other budgeting tool into Microsoft Excel files (.xlsx files) for use in Costpoint Analytics.
In Excel, manipulate the budget data as necessary so that each file contains the required data in the required format. Use the sample budget data files as guides.
Do either of the following:
Replace the sample Excel files in the <installation location>\Analytics\Budget folder with your files. Make sure each of the files has the same file name as the sample file it is replacing.
Or
Copy the contents of your files into our files.
After you load your original budget data, you will update that data periodically. For example, you would load new budget data if your firm establishes a revised budget part way into the fiscal year or if it establishes the baseline budget for a new fiscal year.
While you can load actual performance data from Costpoint one period at a time, you cannot do such incremental data loads for budgets. Each time you load budget data, Costpoint Analytics completely replaces the existing budget data with the current contents of the budget data files.
As a result, updating the existing budget data files normally involves doing one or more of the following:
Copying a set of updated budget data (a new forecast budget, for example) into the budget data files to replace the old data.
Adding rows to the budget data files for new budget data (for a new period or year, for example).
Deleting rows from budget data files (for example, to remove budgets for a prior year when you no longer want that data available in Costpoint Analytics).
Depending on how easy it is to extract and format budget data for Costpoint Analytics, however, you may find that the most efficient approach is to completely recreate the budget data files each time, as described in the preceding section.